Meperidine-Ketorolac Combination Provides Better Analgesia than Meperidine Alone in Postoperative Patients.

BACKGROUND: Our study objective was to assess if multi-modal analgesia with meperidine-ketorolac combination provides superior analgesia or reduces opioid requirement following surgery compared to Meperidine alone. DESIGN: Double-blind randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Postoperative pain control in orthopedic ward after spinal anesthesia. PATIENTS: American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) risk I or II (ASA I/II) patients who had lower limb implant surgery (88) at our center from September 2014 to July 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 1 mg/kg of intravenous (IV) meperidine and 30 mg of IV ketorolac (treatment group) or 1 mg/kg of IV meperidine (control group) post-surgery, administered every hour for the first 6 hours during the first 24 hours post-surgery. In addition, patients received intravenous meperidine on an 'as needed basis' during the first 24 hours of the postoperative period. MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes were time-to-first analgesia request postoperatively; cumulative opioid dose in first 24 hours post-surgery; frequency of side effects; and patient satisfaction with pain relief using a Likert scale. Numerical rating scale (NRS) pain scores hourly for the first 6 hours, then the 8th, 12th, 16th, 18th and 24th hour post-surgery were assessed. RESULTS: There was a significant delay in time of first request for analgesia (460 min vs 225 min; P=0.03) and a reduction in opioid consumption in 24 hours (299 mg vs 325 mg; P=0.01) in the meperidine/ketorolac group compared with the meperidine alone group which were both statistically significant. Patient satisfaction with pain relief was better in the treatment group (P=0.01). Additionally, there were fewer side effects in the treatment group than in the control group but this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Adding ketorolac to meperidine reduced postoperative pain, reduced patient daily opioid requirement, increased patient satisfaction with pain relief, without increasing the frequency of side effects. Therefore, IV ketorolac addition to opioids may be a reasonable option in multimodal analgesic protocol.

Radiofrequency Ablation for Craniofacial Pain Syndromes.

Headache disorders and trigeminal neuralgia are common conditions representing the types of craniofacial pain syndrome that can significantly impact quality of life. Many cases are refractory to traditional pharmacologic treatments, whether oral or intravenous. Radiofrequency ablation has been increasingly used as a tool to treat resistant, chronic pain of both of these disorders. Multiple studies have been reported that illustrate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of the numerous headache subtypes and trigeminal neuralgia.

Pharmacogenomics of oxycodone: a narrative literature review.

Oxycodone is a semisynthetic µ- and κ-opioid receptor with agonist with a broad scope of use including postoperative analgesia as well as control of neuropathic and cancer pain. Advantages over other opioids include prolonged duration of action, greater potency than morphine and lack of histamine release or ceiling effect. Individual responses to oxycodone can vary due to genetic differences. This review article aims to summarize the oxycodone literature and provide context on its pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetics. The evidence for clinical effect of genetic polymorphisms on oxycodone is conflicting. There is stronger evidence linking polymorphic genetic enzymes CYP2D6 and CYP3A with therapeutic outcomes. Further, research is needed to discern all of oxycodone's metabolites and their contribution to the overall analgesic effect.

Intravenous Lidocaine Infusion for the Management of Early Postoperative Pain: A Comprehensive Review of Controlled Trials.

Previously used as anti-arrhythmic, intravenous lidocaine infusion is becoming popular for use in management of acute pain. There is still much to be understood about its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, especially with regard to optimal dosing to avoid side effects. In this article, we selected and reviewed randomized controlled trials to summarize the pharmacokinetics, antinociceptive effects, anti-hyperalgesic effects, anti-inflammatory effects, side effects, and role of intravenous lidocaine in the management of early postoperative pain. The mechanisms of action of lidocaine are still unclear but there are many theories postulated. Optimal dosing of lidocaine is not known but general consensus indicates that a loading dose of 1-2 mg/kg, followed by 1-2 mg/kg/hr continuous infusion during early postoperative pain control while recovering from anesthesia to achieve therapeutic levels of 0.5-5 mcg/kg clearly improves analgesia in the immediate postoperative period. Although lidocaine was initially studied and proven to have clear analgesic effects following laparoscopic and open abdominal surgeries, it has now been shown to be applicable in different clinical settings perioperatively including following spinal, breast, ENT and other surgeries. It is generally safe, with hypotension, headache and vomiting being the more common side effects. Serious adverse effects include cardiovascular block and arrhythmias, neuro-excitability and hypersensitivity, although the frequency of these are not known.